Trying to find a song on rotation in the early 1990s

[TeaPartyDude]

Right On The Tip Of My Tongue

I got it, Brenda and the Tabulations, right?

 

[firepoint525]

That will usually work on any search engine, too. The big thing, of course, is that you've got to get the lyrics right. Wrong words will bring useless results. Neither method is any good when you're trying to identify an instrumental, though. I've got several running through my head -- they've been there for decades -- that I know I'll never be able to identify because I have no idea of the artists and I can't carry a tune in the proverbial bucket.

Entirely instrumental, a typical track of The Wave at that time. Not really hummable, more of a mood piece.
Thanks!

Instrumentals used to give me fits! We had an automated FM station near me (one that I later worked for!) back in the pre-internet age. Whenever they played something that I was not familiar with, I could usually figure out the title and look it up in my Whitburn book. Not so with instrumentals, of course! (Later, when I worked for that same station, I could usually use the Whitburn book to look up anything that a listener might call about. Of course, that was usually rather rare for me by then, because I usually knew who sang what!)

 

[LKellerIII]

Instrumentals used to give me fits! We had an automated FM station near me (one that I later worked for!) back in the pre-internet age. Whenever they played something that I was not familiar with, I could usually figure out the title and look it up in my Whitburn book. Not so with instrumentals, of course! (Later, when I worked for that same station, I could usually use the Whitburn book to look up anything that a listener might call about. Of course, that was usually rather rare for me by then, because I usually knew who sang what!)

Yes. Instrumentals. About 8 years ago, my daughter collected hundreds of songs on computer- mostly old rock and roll and pop. Though she was only in her late 20s then, she has an old soul, or something, because she had some great 60's, and even 50's rock. But she failed to label a couple hundred. I spent an afternoon Googling the lyrics, and was able to quickly identify 90% of them. But all her instrumental surf music...no go.

 

[rotation]

I have the same challenge...

I share your frustration. During the few times I heard one song in 1989/1990 on KTWV, I never caught more than a possible "Christmas" and/or "Fantasy" identifier of the song, album, or performer, but none have panned out in Google or other searches. It was a keyboard synthesizer performance that sounded similar to a merry-go-round pipe organ with percussion and rhythmic syncopation - no words/lyrics and I can barely hum it for the song search engines. KTWV playlists from 1988-1992 would be helpful.